.webp)
It’s widely known that if you eat right and take regular exercise, you’ll have a far greater chance of staying in healthy, physical shape. However, it does take practise, routine, and dedication to achieve your physical goals. The same treatment applies to your mind, too. Patience and self-compassion are required to maintain a healthy mind.
The pandemic highlighted adverse effects on a lot of people’s mental health as it brought a lot of people into isolation, burnout from working at home and a decrease in morale and motivation etc. Consequently, it has helped raise mental health awareness as a lot of people suffered negatively that would otherwise consider themselves to be mentally strong.
It’s important is to recognise the triggers and build healthy routines and practises into your mindset.
We’ve all been in the situation where someone asks, “How are you?” and your knee jerk response is something along the lines of “fine thanks”, despite how you really feel. It’s important to recognise that sometimes it’s ok, to not be ok.
Below are six basic tips to help you maintain a healthy mind.
1) Effective Communication – This is the key ingredient in mental health recovery. Simply talking about struggles you’re facing can really help put you in a better frame of mind, rather than suffering alone. Look to your friends, family, partner or even a colleague to use as a soundboard.
Effectively articulating your feelings and emotions will assist the listener in understanding what is causing you distress. Poor communication, or a lack of communication will leave you feeling like you’re not being heard or understood correctly.
2) Know your triggers – It can be difficult at first to learn what is causing you emotional distress. Once you have identified your triggers, you can work on finding ways to overcome them.
3) Pause – A change of pace is good for your mental health. Taking a 5-minute pause can help you to de-stress and refocus.
4) Accept yourself – Everyone is unique and possesses different skills and attributes. Try not to compare yourself to someone else. Recognise what you are not good at and accept it. If it is something you would like to change, first consider if it is realistic. If it is, make small steps towards the change.
5) Keep active – Regular exercise can help you focus, feel better and sleep better. You don’t have to go to the gym or partake in a sport. Simply going for a walk or doing some gardening can help keep you active.
6) Drink sensibly – Occasional light drinking is perfectly healthy; however, some people frequently or excessively consume alcohol to change their mood or ‘help’ them deal with how they’re feeling. The effect is only temporary and not a healthy or effective way to manage difficult feelings. It is recommended to stay within the recommended weekly alcohol limit of 14 units.
Your mental wellbeing is as equally important as your physical wellbeing. Practising these steps can help improve your mental state.
If you would like more information and resources on mental health, Mind has a wealth of helpful content. Visit https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support.
